IBM, Sony, and Toshiba disclosed the architectural design of a jointly developed, multi-core “Cell” processor claimed to feature supercomputer-like floating-point performance and clock speeds in excess of 4 GHz, at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) today. Examples of anticipated applications include digital televisions, home servers, and supercomputers.

In a joint announcement issued today, the group said that Cell delivers “vastly improved, real-time response for entertainment and rich media applications, in many cases 10 times the performance of the latest PC processors. Cell's design boasts “eight synergistic processors,” and top clock speeds of greater than 4 GHz have been measured during initial hardware testing.

(Read our earlier story for more details about Cell's multicore, 64-bit Power processor-based architecture.)

The Cell processor will simultaneously support multiple operating systems, such as conventional operating systems (including Linux), real-time operating systems for computer entertainment and consumer electronics applications, and guest operating systems for specific applications, the group said.

The companies say they have collaborated on the development of the Cell processor at a joint design center in Austin, Texas since March 2001. The prototype chip is is 221 square-millimeters in size, integrates 234 million transistors, and is fabbed using 90 nanometer SOI technology.

Initial production of Cell processors is slated to begin this year, first at IBM's East Fishkill, NY 300mm fab, and later at Sony Group's Nagasaki Fab.

William Zeitler, senior vice president and group executive at IBM's Systems and Technology Group, called Cell “an open, multi-core, microprocessor that portends a new era in graphics and multi-media performance,” in a statement issued by the group today.

Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO of Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., added that Cell “[opens] a doorway, a new chapter in computer science is about to begin.”

Masashi Muromachi, corporate vice president of Toshiba Corporation and president & CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor Company, described Cell as “a revolutionary microprocessor with a brand new architecture that leapfrogs the performance of existing processors.” He added that Cell “will provide major momentum for the progress of digital convergence, as a core device sustaining a whole spectrum of advanced information-rich broadband applications, from consumer electronics, home entertainment, through various industrial systems.”

 
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